Through The Autumn Breeze
by Romancehowler
Summary: After a night of exploring goes awry Julie Moore finds herself wandering the dark woods of The Unknown. Even if the place gives her the creeps, she's determined to find a way out. But the journey was never meant to be simple. Getting turned into a robin wasn't part of the plan. Despite the looming shadows, with the help of two other lost souls Julie might just make it back home.
1. Prologue

**Hi guys. I re-watched Over The Garden Wall recently and got inspiration for a plot. I wondered what it would be like if Beatrice wasn't a native of The Unknown, but rather another lost soul like Greg and Wirt. Thus, this story was born. Perhaps not the most original idea, but I love the little world of OTGW and the idea of telling new tales.**

 **This story will have 12 chapters. A prologue, the 10 episodes of the miniseries and an epilogue. The episodes will be altered in ways, of course. I hope you readers enjoy what I write, as we delve into the mysterious Unknown..**

It was a crisp autumn afternoon. The scent of spicy cinnamon and apple was on the wind, both trademarks of the harvest season. In the small town of Cedarbrook children prepared for the fun and trickery of the evening. Groups of friends sat on the soft grass of backyards, pulling on costumes and making arguments about who looked the scariest.

Not everybody was cavorting about with others that day. A young girl of thirteen sat alone against a tree trunk, slowly carving a pumpkin. Her darkened face was pursed in concentration as hands of the same color maneuvered a knife through the orange flesh. A trio of brown freckles lay beneath each of her olivine eyes that flickered back and forth as she decided upon her design.

Although she wasn't talking to others about costumes she was still wearing one. A headband was jammed onto her head, somewhat obscured by curly bushels of dark hair. Stuck onto the headband were a pair of black cat's ears. The rest of the outfit consisted of a striped yellow-and-orange cardigan and a floppy "Tail" tied to the back of her jeans. Her footwear consisted of simple red sneakers that she often wore outside.

This girl's name was Julie Moore. An only child, Julie had grown up to become a somewhat solitary person. She preferred to keep her distance from others, lest they make fun of her for the way she lived. Julie held a thirst for adventure and intrigue, things not often found within Cedarbrook. Because of this she took to wandering the forest around the town, climbing trees and looking for anything unique.

"Unique" essentially meant anything out of the ordinary. Julie collected such things in jars, boxes or other containers which she would place in her bedroom. Examples of her collection included: a rock roughly shaped like the letter L, a leaf with a pattern of holes and a very flat, wide pebble. Her most interesting specimen was a living creature which she'd found close to the nearby river. She liked going out on expeditions after dark, when nocturnal creatures were about.

Julie was looking forward to sunset that day in particular. It was the 31st of October, Halloween. The day that, it is said, the veil between the living and the dead is thinnest. Anything could happen.

At least, she hoped something would. After the trick-or-treating and other more ordinary rituals were over, Julie would go on a long excursion into the forest. It was her sort of yearly tradition, setting out into the woods with just a flashlight and backpack, ready to find something extraordinary. Her anticipation of something strange usually ended in disappointment, unfortunately. Still, she could not help but notice a _buzz_ in the air on Halloween night. Not the type of buzz one gets from people's excitement, either.

A smile crept along Julie's face as she remembered her fortune the previous year. She wasn't ready to give up on her ideas just yet.

There was a soft _plunk_ as the final piece carved from the pumpkin landed on the ground.

 _'Hmm.. I think this may be my best one yet,'_ thought Julie as she stood back to scrutinize the vegetable.

The pumpkin appeared to be leering, mouth gaping wide open and rimmed with sharp-looking teeth. The eyes were large and slanted, giving the impression of evil delight. The nose was the simplest part, being a small triangle.

Julie stood and stretched her stiff legs, satisfied with her work. She bent to pick up the new Jack-O-Lantern, carrying it over to the front porch of her small home and placing it down carefully.

Feeling the house was now adequately set up for trick-or-treating, Julie quickly grabbed a small bag and set off to do some of her own.

* * *

 _'Pretty good haul this year!'_

A wide grin stretched across the teen's face as she hefted her now bulging bag of candy. Although Cedarbrook was a small town, it's large population of children ensured the adults were well stocked for Halloween. Night had fallen hours ago, the chirping of crickets signaling through the darkness.

Julie hummed to herself merrily, popping a piece of red licorice into her mouth and chewing it slowly. She continued sampling her spoils until making it back to her house.

"I'm back, mom!" The teen's voice rang out as the old door creaked open.

A weary-looking woman came out from the living room, placing down an empty bowl before turning to her daughter. Her skin was tanned, though a few shades darker than Julie's and showing signs of age. Her eyes, too, were different. They were dark as the night outside, but nonetheless they held a fierce spark.

"Ah, look what the cat's dragged in!" Martha quipped, taking note of her daughter's scruffy appearance.

Julie rolled her eyes good-naturedly at the joke. Taking a second to straighten her wonky headband, she pulled the treat bag into the house and dropped it onto a coffee table surrounded by armchairs. She couldn't help but smile as candy spilled out onto the wood with a clatter.

"I got loads this year, mom. Toffees, bubblegum, sherbet, chocolates.."

Julie paused to duck her head into the bag, coming out with a brown pouch clasped in one hand.

"Of course I couldn't forget your favorite. Caramel cremes!" The girl tossed it towards her mother with a cheeky grin.

"Well thank you, dear. But caramel cremes aren't exactly cheap... are you sure you didn't go rifling through old Miss Girder's cupboard again?" Martha eyed Julie with suspicion.

The teen stood innocently, hands behind her back. "Oh, mother, why would you accuse me of such a thing? I'll have you know I _asked_ Miss Girder for those."

"That so? Well, maybe I ought to go thank her for them.." The woman smiled, turning towards the door.

Julie dropped her demeanor and waved her hands in surrender, "Okay, okay! So I didn't exactly ask. But it's not like she'll notice they're gone..."

"Hmmm. Alright, I won't tell her about it. But this time you've gotta pay her back for them, alright?" Martha's tone was stern.

"Okay, mom. I'm gonna go get my backpack."

The teen raced upstairs before she could receive further scolding. Martha sighed and shook her head, absently taking a bite of one of the ill-gotten sweets.

* * *

Julie checked her blue backpack a final time, making sure she had what she needed.

"Torch, jars, snacks, water, rope and sweater. Looks like everything's ready!"

The teen zipped up the pack and pulled it onto her shoulders, excited for a new adventure. Before departing, she quickly farewelled her pet tortoise.

"I'll see ya later, buddy. I didn't forget about your treat."

Julie placed some unwrapped candies into the glass enclosure, causing the reptile to start nibbling at them. It was an odd creature, black as ink and with an appetite for sweet things. Julie had found it on her expedition the previous year, injured. After freeing one of it's legs from under a rock she cared for it back at her home, eventually becoming attached. Although it still had no name, Julie felt glad to have it as a companion.

Giving the tortoise one last pat, the girl exited her room and raced downstairs. She waved to her mother as she headed towards the door.

"Bye mom! I'll be back later!"

With one last step, she launched into the cool breeze of the outside world.

 _'Into the unknown..'_

* * *

Julie grunted as she hauled herself up onto a tree. She had been exploring the forest for an hour, and it showed. Leaves and twigs were stuck in her bushy mane of hair and woven through her cardigan. Dirt was smudged along the legs of her jeans and on her face. This didn't faze Julie though; she was used to getting dirty and bruised when seeking the extraordinary.

The teen let out a sigh and adjusted her legs, allowing them to freely swing under the branch on which she now sat. Shining her torch around, she took note of the water reflecting it's light below. The river flowed on quietly, trickling around small rocks poking above it's surface. Although Julie had swum in the river before, it wasn't always safe. The particular patch she was shining her torch on was dark, indicating it was deep. It was bound to be very cold as well, considering how the air temperature seemed to be slowly dropping.

Julie turned to rummage through her backpack. Only one of her jars had been filled. The girl squinted at it's contents.

It seemed to be a worn piece of carved grey stone, which Julie had found stuck in the mud of the riverbank. One end was flat, the other sides uneven. This indicated it was chipped off of something. The other giveaway was the large letter chiseled into it. A capital M curved elegantly across, one end of it cut slightly. It was obviously a part of some old monument or a similar artwork.

"M..." Julie rolled the letter around in her mouth, imagining the significance it may have had.

 _'Like.. the start of a fancy name? Marilla, Marius, Montague...'_

While the girl continued to think of names starting with "M", the night breeze started to blow harder. The branch Julie sat on began to shake.

"Brrr... Might be time to put on my sweater." The teen shivered, reaching across into her bag.

 _ **CAAAAW!**_

A sudden, loud screech caused her to jump in surprise. One hand clutching onto her backback, Julie's torch slid out of her grasp as she lost her balance. The cause of this disturbance was a large crow, looking down at her from a higher branch with beady black eyes.

"Whoahh!"

Julie was unable to prevent what came next. She slipped off the shuddering wood, falling towards the river with a scream. She heard her torch hit the water, then felt herself do the same.

A loud splash was the prelude to a mind-numbing cold. Julie found she could hardly move. She was still holding onto her backpack, weighed down by it. With some struggling the girl managed to release it into the depths. This did little to help her move, however. Her breath was almost gone from the initial impact, the chill sapping it even faster.

Julie tried to look around, her vision blurred and darkening. Her consciousness slipped away as she closed her eyelids and surrendered to the water's deadly embrace.

* * *

Red sneakers crunched over brown leaves, the sound echoing through the desolate area. Dead-looking trees loomed in a foreboding way over the dirt path. They bore an eerie resemblance to human faces, eyes and mouths locked in an expression of everlasting misery. Tar-like oil oozed from crevices spiderwebbed across their bodies, pooling around gnarled roots.

The crunching noise stopped.

"Where... am I?"

Julie scanned her surroundings, feeling confused and disoriented. She thought she had been cold; was she? Her backpack was slung over her shoulders, her clothes clean and unworn.

"But.. I just started into the forest... didn't I?"

The girl's breathing quickened as she struggled to remember.

"I-I got lost... I don't even know where this is..."

She spun around, gaze drawn to the trees that seemed to be mocking her.

"I-I'm.."

Julie stopped, closing her eyes and taking deep breaths to calm herself. She opened her eyes and observed her surroundings more thoroughly.

"Okay, this is a weird place. Maybe I went the wrong way."

Thinking to herself, the teen spotted a signpost next to one of the trees. The lettering was worn but Julie suspected it might be pointing her way back home. Adjusting her backpack straps, the girl trudged forwards on the path with determination.

 **That's the end of the prologue, folks. I hope you're enjoying it so far. This chapter was mostly about establishing Julie's character so not much really happened. But the next chapter will be more exciting. It'll show things from Julie's point of view, with Wirt and Greg making their first appearances. Their journey won't really pick up until chapter 3, but I will do my best to keep things interesting with things I'll integrate into the original 10 chapters. Leave a review if you want, I haven't written in this style for a bit and I'm interested to know what you guys think of it!**

 **As a side note, the cover picture is a drawing of Julie and her robin form. I commissioned it myself, but the art isn't mine. All credit goes to the original artist birbbudd on Deviantart.**


	2. The Old Grist Mill

**Hey again. Here's chapter 2 for ya. Julie was left disoriented and lost in The Unknown.. although she doesn't yet know it.**

A soft sigh echoed across the pathway, followed by a crunch. A girl partaking in a shiny red apple was resting on a large rock. She was tired, very tired.

And... _angry._

Julie didn't really know why, but it seemed that the longer she walked, the more her frustration grew. She was normally an optimistic person, but the strange forest almost seemed to sap her spirit. She needed to get out of here.

Somewhere in the trees, a jovial chirp was heard. Julie stopped chewing the apple in her mouth to look around; nothing. The girl returned to her food with a frown.

The chirp repeated, louder this time. Julie's brows knit themselves closer. Suddenly, the irritating sound started and would not stop. A quick flutter of wings revealed the culprit to be a small bird. Julie identified it as a robin by it's bright red breast. It continued to chirp and chirp; Julie almost felt like it was laughing at her. Unnatural anger broiled inside of her until it just had to be let out. The teen growled and grabbed a nearby stone on the ground.

"SHUT _UP!_ "

Her arm arced, launching the stone into the air. Propelled by the strength of fury, the projectile hit it's mark with a sickening _thwack_. The robin uttered a wheezing tweet before dropping onto the dirt.

As the bird lay, gravely injured, Julie's anger drained to be replaced by guilt. She ran towards the robin and crouched. As she picked up the tiny thing in her hands, she could see one of it's wings was broken. It would never fly again.

"I'm.. I'm sorry..." Julie whispered, tears pricking her eyes.

The bird began to convulse. It's wheezes grew more desperate, almost ragged. Then, as suddenly as it had started, the bird lay still. But before it passed the robin did something odd; it fixed Julie's eyes in a gaze filled with intelligence. It then moved it's broken wing and brushed it over Julie's fingers. Moments later, it was dead.

Julie felt the action to be ominous. She lay the bird beneath one of the trees in the area, shivering. A cold wind was ruffling her curly hair. It became louder, fiercer. Julie tried to take shelter from the dead leaves being whipped in her face by the gale. The wind only seemed to grow louder, roaring in her ears.

 _Birds... of a feather.._

Julie's eyes widened at the sound of... whispering? She curled up on the ground, try desperately to block out all the sound raging around her. The bluster increased in a rumbling crescendo, to the point where Julie thought her head might explode. Then, slowly, the wind began to fade.

She sagged with relief, giggling as the softer breeze tickled her face. The giggling came to a halt when she realized the tickly feeling was spreading to her whole body at an alarmingly fast rate. Julie fell to the ground, unable to stop new bursts of laughter. She began to feel light. So light, she felt like she could just float up on that breeze and be carried away...

The world was shrinking before Julie's eyes, but she barely noticed. Her head was up, up high in the clouds. If only she could get her body up there too.

She flapped her arms, the sky suddenly pulling at her like a magnet. It wasn't working. She flapped harder.

 _'Almost... there!'_

The lovely floating sensation was leaving her now. She at last snapped out of the trance she'd been in, flopping backwards onto the ground with a gasp.

* * *

The impact was painful.

 _'More than it should be,'_ thought Julie, wincing.

She pushed herself up. Then toppled right over again, coughing at a small cloud of dust kicked up as a result. Her balance was off for sure. It took Julie several tries to stand upright and take a few steps. By that point she had noticed a few things that had gone very, very wrong. The world looked huge, the eerie trees looming at an incredible height above the girl. Julie was also missing her backpack. She turned her head to look; it didn't take her long to find it. She bumped into it, in fact.

"Oof!" Julie exclaimed, tumbling backwards and feeling as if she'd just hit a soft wall.

She was left speechless as she gazed up at just what it was. A mountain of brown and orange fabric, host to several glistening metal mouths. It was just a backpack, but from Julie's new perspective it seemed to leer like a monster.

"My backpack... but.. how..."

She stepped forward to one of the low-hanging zipper tags. It was a polished circle of metal Julie had found on one of her expeditions some years ago, a faint indentation of words still visible on it. This time she didn't focus on them. Instead, she found her gaze fixed to the flabbergasted robin staring right back.

It was a nice-looking specimen. A brilliant red breast, complimented with a faint outline of blue feathers. White feathers ran on it's underside, alongside sleek brown that covered most of it's body. It's legs were small, slender and brown with tiny yet sharp talons. It's dark beak hung open in a such a way that it could have come straight out of a comic book. But there was something else about this robin that was not natural. It's eyes, wide and afraid, were olive. Julie knew a little about birds, and robins _never_ had eyes like this.

She blinked. The robin blinked back.

"No. Nononono _no-_ "

The robin's beak moved in an all-too-human way. It's wings lifted as it shrank away from the reflective medallion. Julie's mind knew what she was seeing, but she couldn't accept it.

 _'Your fault, a-a-aaall your fault!'_ A mocking voice sing-songed in her head.

"B-but I didn't, I-I never..."

She raised her arms - wings - over her head and squeezed her eyes shut.

"Wake up, wake up, wake up..." She pleaded, hoping against hope that this was all some terrible dream.

She opened her eyes. To the desolate trees, the dead leaves, the mournful wind. And the lonely little robin reflected at her, that looked so very lost.

* * *

Julie had been leaning against her bag for a while now, thinking. That was all she really could do then. She had no way to carry it in her new state, but she didn't want to leave it behind. It was packed with food and water, as well as some jars and a journal of hers that was irreplaceable. So she sat, as if waiting. Julie wasn't sure what for, though. The forest pathway stretched on forward, but it was shrouded in mist. She wasn't sure how far it was to the nearest town.

"Or if this place even has a town." The robin mumbled to herself gloomily.

She took another look at the wings that had replaced her arms. Julie had flown around a little at first, finding some enjoyment in the new feeling of exhilaration it brought. But she could not go on without her backpack, and so her air space was limited.

Julie was normally an optimistic person, but right now..

She sighed, folding her wings and huddling against another gust of wind. She felt so _confused._ In a way she'd never been before.

 _'If I could just carry my backpack..'_

A sudden noise echoed from nearby. Julie automatically launched herself into the air in fright. She hovered cautiously, looking for the sound's source.

 _ **Honk**_

She heard it again, blinking in confusion. Now that she thought about it, that almost sounded like a goose. Perhaps another victim of an avian curse?

Something large emerged from the trees, stepping onto the path. It _was_ a goose, but unlike any ordinary goose Julie had seen. It was the size of an ostrich and had a shiny blue ribbon tied around it's neck in a bow. It also seemed to move with a strange grace rather than a clumsy waddle.

Julie stayed in the air as the goose turned it's head and fixed her with curious dark eyes. It took several more elegant steps, until it was only a few feet away from the backpack. From such a close distance, Julie had a sudden thought. The goose bore an uncanny resemblance to the Mother Goose commonly depicted on the covers of nursery rhyme books. It's beak even seemed to be curved in a warm smile.

Deciding the goose was not a threat, Julie alighted down on her backpack. She cocked her head, then opened her beak.

"Hello? Do you.. um, do you understand me?"

The goose lowered her head down to her level and bobbed it in a nod. Julie gave a sigh of relief, glad to have someone to talk to at last.

"That's great! See, this is a little embarrassing but.." The robin shifted with a frown, "I'm sorta... lost. I want to go on following this path, but I need to carry this backpack and, well..." She trailed off, gesturing at her small form.

The goose emitted another amiable honk, then gave the backpack a strong nudge with her beak that tipped it over. Julie instinctively launched upwards before she could meet the ground too. She gasped out a question as she beat her wings.

"Wh-what did you do that for?"

The answer quickly became clear, fortunately. The goose picked up the bag by one of the straps, and in one careful motion tugged it up over her back. She raised her head and bobbed it in the direction of the continuing path, giving another honk.

 _'She wants to help me?'_ Julie was surprised by the goose's friendliness. All the geese she'd ever met had been hissy and aggressive. Once again, the elegant white bird proved herself to be something unique.

After a few minutes, Julie found herself gliding behind the goose along the path. Her optimism was being restored, a smile already adorning her small beak. She was so very glad just to be moving again. The fact that she had someone who knew the way was also a comforting thought.

Soon, Julie noticed that the trees alongside them were no longer so close. They were different, too; now they bore the look of regular old maple trees with red-orange leaves. The chilling grimaces of the black-oil trees were gone. The forest wasn't so stifling to Julie now. In fact, she was starting to feel that familiar thirst for adventure growing inside of her...

* * *

As Goose and Julie continued down the path, the gentle flow of a river reached their ears. They had to stop before it, as it ran right through the dirt of the pathway.

The two birds looked at one another for a moment. Julie landed in front of the running water, taking a look at herself in it's reflection. She twisted her head this way and that, opened and shut her beak, moved her wings about.

 _'Still a robin...'_

She bowed her feathered head with a sigh and closed her eyes. She needed a way to turn herself back to normal.

Suddenly, her head shot up with a triumphant cry of, "That's it!"

Julie fluttered in front of her traveling companion with a hopeful smile. She opened her beak and a rush of words poured out in her eagerness.

"Okay so, I'm not really a robin, I'm a girl, but I got cursed by a robin and I was wondering if you knew-" she paused to take a breath, "-if there was a way I could be turned back into a human?"

Goose blinked at her, then gave a reluctant nod. She moved her head down and began scratching at the dirt with her large beak. At first Julie was confused, but she quickly noticed the movements were careful and precise. Goose was writing.

It didn't take long for her to finish. She stamped the ground with a webbed foot to show she was done.

"Adelaide of The Pasture?" Asked Julie as she peered at the completed words.

Goose honked and moved her beak down once more, this time drawing something. The white bird's movements were graceful, as always, and she quickly completed her work once more. Julie landed on a tree branch and stared down in bewilderment.

"Are those... scissors?" She asked.

For, that is what the drawing looked like. Strangely crafted scissors modeled after a crane. The handles were the feet, the blades the beak. There was something elegant and eerie about the design.

Julie was distracted from her observing suddenly, as a noise rang out from behind the trees. She listened carefully to the sound as it echoed, and gasped.

"Hold on, I... I need to check something!" She said to Goose, then flapped into the air and through the forest.

* * *

Julie's heart was thumping in her small chest. As she got closer and closer to the sounds, her hopes were confirmed. A voice, a _human_ voice.

 _'Please, please be a real person and not some crazy monster...'_

Her wings flapped with all their might and propelled her forward at a fast pace. She came out of the tree cluster and into a large clearing, which was host to some kind of cottage mill. The creek from the path ran beside it, pushing a large wooden waterwheel. A sign that the area was inhabited.

Of course, there was also the little boy running around in front of the cottage. It was his voice Julie had heard; he was still calling out "Kitty!".

At first glance Julie thought he was wearing some sort of helmet on his head. As she watched him, she realized it was actually some sort of metal teapot. Odd.

Julie hovered in the air with hesitation. She didn't know whether the boy was native to this strange forest, or lost like her.

"Where did that frog named Kitty go?" The boy huffed meanwhile, jumping into a barrel and tipping it over with his weight.

Julie shook her head with a smile at his antics. She decided to stay for a bit and see what happened, landing on a branch. There could be more people around, but she didn't want to approach the boy in case she scared him, being a talking bird.

Within the next few seconds however, she found her trepidation to be gone.

A sudden chill had seeped into the air. Julie's feathers fluffed in alarm as she witnessed a black shape slink out of the trees as slick as oil. Even from her perch she could hear the beast's deep, heavy growl. Worst of all, it was heading right towards the boy's barrel.

"Oh gosh, oh gosh.." Julie gasped, lifting from her branch and momentarily frozen.

She shook herself out of it, and courage shone through to direct her right down at the beast with her sharp beak.

"Kid, watch out!"

Julie felt her beak catch the black creature's ear just as it was inspecting the barrel. It gave a strangled and unnatural howl, turning around and knocking the barrel over. The boy inside fell out with a surprised "Oof!", a large frog along with him.

Julie had not a moment to rest; the beast whirled around and snapped at her with it's gaping jaws. As she dodged the attack she realized the creature was some sort of wolf. That, and it's eyes were unlike anything she'd ever seen. They bulged grotesquely from their sockets, glowing in several shades of blue, pink and yellow.

The Bright-Eyed Wolf didn't stop to assault the robin further. It sniffed the air, momentarily confusing Julie. But it didn't last long; she saw the boy and his frog disappearing behind the cottage's door. She screamed another warning as the roaring beast shoved it down with it's mighty bulk.

From within the cottage came two new voices. _'Human ones,'_ Julie thought with a surge of hope.

"It's the Beast!" Cried the first, a terrified but young male voice.

"Stay back, boys!" Growled the second, a gruff noise Julie automatically associated with the image of an old man.

There was a sudden thump, followed by the sound of something fragile breaking. While the Bright-Eyed Wolf advanced, Julie took her chance and flew into the cottage.

The first voice, which Julie now saw belonged to a boy around her age, was directed at the young boy from outside.

"Greg, why did you do that?!" he yelled helplessly, gesturing to an unconscious old woodcutter on the floor.

 _'The old man!'_

The younger boy, Greg, shrugged, holding a piece of wood in one hand, "That was your plan, remember? Knock him out!"

Julie's attention turned back to the beast as she heard a fresh yelp from the older boy. Gathering up more courage, she gave the creature another dive-bomb. It snarled and snapped, all the while Greg pitched in by hitting it's backside with the end of an axe handle. The older boy took his chance and ran to the stairs.

Thoroughly unamused, the Bright-Eyed Wolf whirled around and advanced on the helpless pair.

"Runrunrunrun _run!"_ Screamed the older boy, doing just that as he scrambled up the stairs.

* * *

What followed was chaos. Julie and the boys were chased into the mill and it's mechanisms. The Bright-Eyed Wolf, now enraged, slammed into and knocked over many of them as it tried to grab them in slavering jaws. Julie tried to distract it, but the room limited her movements and the newly-made clouds of dust made it even more difficult. Now on a platform, the older boy pitched in at this point in an almost comical way. Grabbing a nearby sack of potatoes, he began lobbing them at the beast with little effect. Greg looked from his axe to his frog in confusion, asking,

"Am I supposed to throw something too?" a second passed, the only sounds being Julie's coughs and the beast's snarls, "Oh, yeah! Candy!" he giggled, pulling up a preposterous amount of plastic-wrapped confections from his overall-pocket and throwing it at the Bright-Eyed Wolf.

Amazingly the action evoked a response. The beast lolled it's head to the side of the wooden platform, licking up the sweets with an enormous tongue. Through the slobbering noises Julie heard snatches of an argument between the boys, but that was brief. The platform shuddered as the Bright-Eyed Wolf squirmed and fell to the ground.

In no time the boys found a hatch to the roof, which all three escaped out of while they could. The beast wasn't done yet though, evident as it burst through the planks with new fury.

"G-greg, give him the rest of your candy!" Commanded the older boy as the beast forced them back, now clutching the axe.

The younger boy rooted around in his pocket, but to their dismay he had no more sweets left.

"Watch out, guys!" Julie took a deep breath, and shot herself at the Bright-Eyed Wolf one last time.

The black creatures yelped and lost it's balance, tottering over the side of the roof and landing between a pair of revolving wooden wheels. It struggled and shook with such force that the cottage splintered, throwing the boys from the roof and into a safe landing in the river. Julie herself landed on another branch close by, exhausted from her battle.

A sudden wet heave erupted from the Bright-Eyed Wolf as a tar-like goop shot out of it's mouth. Along with it came a piece of purple candy resting on a shiny black stone. When said stone sprouted legs and started to move, Julie held a wing to her beak in silent shock.

 _'No... not a stone. It's a tortoise!'_

She felt her stomach drop, noticing the similarities between it and her pet back home. Both were pitch black and had a strange appetite for sweet things. Julie didn't know what this meant for where she was, not to mention it's affect on the creature that had attacked them.

The older boy, now dripping water, stared down at it perplexedly. Greg emerged from the river with joy, riding on a sopping wet but friendly white and brown dog.

"Wirt, look! He spit up that turtle and now he's my new best friend!"

The statement was short-lived. The dog shook himself dry, throwing the boy and his frog onto the grass. At this moment, the woodcutter emerged from the cottage with a strange old fashioned black lantern. He was waving up at the broken mill in dismay, but Julie didn't hear what he said. Her gaze was drawn to the hypnotizing yellow glow of the lantern. It's light was beginning to burn her eyes, when the woodcutter's sharp tone snapped her out of it.

"The Beast cannot be mollified like some pet! He stalks the night, he sings like the four winds, he is the death of hope!" the old man's words were grim indeed, and Julie listened with dread, "He steals the children, and then he'll take.. the.. th-the.." his words dissolved into mutterings as he sat on a rock, and the trio heard no more.

* * *

"Always messing up, Greg!" tutted the older boy, Wirt, knocking the teapot on Greg's head.

Now that the danger was over, Julie observed the pair more closely. Both were oddly dressed. Greg was short and stout, wearing an old green coverall over a cream shirt along with the teapot resting on his short brown hair. His brown eyes were large and filled with the young fire of curiosity and happiness. A large green-brown frog was clutched at his side, looking thoroughly unfazed by the turn of events.

Wirt was a contrast; tall, somewhat thin, he was clad in brown trousers and an old navy cape that covered suspenders and a white shirt. Strangest of all was the long red cone on his head that reminded Julie of a gnome. His eyes were the same color as Greg's, but were filled with caution, worry and a quiet intellect.

The woodcutter whirled around during the robin's musings, "You've got it backwards, boy! _You_ are the elder child, _you_ are responsible for the actions of you and your brother!"

As the old man continued his blustery tirade Julie finally realized what she should have earlier. The pair were brothers, evident by their looks and instinct to protect each other should they be threatened.

 _'I wonder what it's like to have a sibling..'_ she pondered, idly fluttering her wings at a cold breeze.

"You must go," the woodcutter gestured to the path that lead to where Goose was waiting, "take your brother and look for a town.."

"Thanks. C'mon, Greg." muttered Wirt, hopping over river stepping stones to the other side.

Julie was readying herself to lift off when the woodcutter stopped her with one last warning, waving about his haunting lantern.

"One last thing! Beware The Unknown, fear The Beast! And leave these woods... if you can. It is _your_ burden to bear!" he smiled at Greg, "And little one, take care of that frog. Get him a proper name."

The amphibian seemed to reply with a loud croak, while Greg grinned and nodded his agreement.

* * *

Julie was flapping through the air, on her way back to Goose. The robin hoped she hadn't left. On the way, she could see Greg and Wirt below her. They'd end up on the same trail, it would seem. Julie smiled to herself, glad at the prospect of more company on her journey to find Adelaide.

Within a few minutes she was back. She heaved a sigh of immense relief as she saw Goose, still sitting content as she had left her. Julie landed in front of the large white bird and explained,

"We just need to wait a little longer. I think we'll have some people joining us soon..."

 **There's the end of chapter 1, The Old Grist Mill. Next up there'll be some Hard Times At The Huskin' Bee for Wirt, Greg and Julie. I'm not sure when that'll be up since I write this infrequently, but hopefully soon.**


End file.
